“Truly reforming our public education system will require that we provide high-quality early learning for every child, and where it is lacking, full-day kinder­garten – just as we do for first, second and third grades – and that we ensure later grades are designed to build upon skills gained in the pre-k years. Without this our education system will struggle to realize its full potential, no matter what other reforms we pursue.” http://www.pewcenteron ... n.pdf

STEM-Focused Schools on Rise Across NationAs the story explains, while, historically, STEM schools have tended to target the top math and science students in a given state or district, the new wave appears to have a broader reach.

Oklahoma school district launches its own mobile appCustomized school apps are becoming increasingly popular in higher education, a trend that began a few years ago when Stanford University launched a campus app for students. But it's a development that is fairly new at the K-12 level.

Fitting In Exercise, Between Math and EnglishPrincipals and other education officials say the combination of budget cuts and testing pressures have relegated physical education to the dispensable category, despite city and federal efforts to combat obesity and improve health by promoting nutritious foods and frequent exercise.

When I Grow Up, I Want to Be...an EntrepreneurA recent released Gallup poll shows that 77% of schoolchildren want to be their own boss. Forty-five percent plan to start their own business and 42% said they will invent something that changes the world.

Why some cities are magnets for entrepreneurs"Communities looking to support an entrepreneurial ecosystem need to first and foremost have the will to do that, to have community buy-in broadly," said Thom Ruhe, director of entrepreneurship for the Ewing Marion Kauffman Foundation. That means endorsement from local government, investors, larger corporations and universities.

Montana tourism industry hopes to raise its profileDespite its status as the state's No. 2 or 3 industry, tourism gets scant respect from legislators who regularly propose bills to chip away at the revenue stream that allows Montana and its six tourism regions to promote the state to the traveling public.

Montana Economic Development

SBA Honors Emerging 200 Initiative Graduates - Small Businesses Impacting Montana's Native Americans, 10/28, Helena"We were very pleased, along with our co-sponsors, to bring Emerging 200 and its MBA-style environment and program, to small businesses in Montana," Joe McClure, District Director of the SBA's Montana District Office, said. "We had a fantastic Class of 2011 and we appreciate their dedication to the program. We feel that each one of them will have a brighter future as a result of their participation, and that the local and state economy will benefit as well.

Flood of data represents promise and peril for Web companiesThe subject of "Big Data" has been dominating conversations among insiders throughout Silicon Valley the past year. And reflecting that, it was the main theme of the eighth annual Web 2.0 Summit that convened this week in San Francisco, dubbed the "The Data Frame."

How businesses can benefit from hiring workers with disabilities Small businesses that hire people with disabilities can qualify for $7,400 in tax credits and $15,000 deduction for making their building more accessible. Other benefits include less-tangible but still-important ones such as higher retention and productivity, gaining access to new markets, and improved customer loyalty and brand trust."

Silicon Valley's New Hiring Strategy "Software is thought of as a science. But what if it's not a science? What if it's more like a craft? Or even an art? If you wanted to hire somebody who could be a great craftsperson, you wouldn't look for somebody with a PhD in that craft."

West Corp. to hire 250 for Spokane call centerDriving the growth has been continued expansion by three major clients, Pleiss said. Those are a wireless carrier, a major grocery company and a financial services company. West Corp. hired about 190 workers in September 2010.

Tech giant EMC thinks even bigger about SeattleSeattle's going to be EMC's fastest-growing research and development center, outpacing the growth of centers in North Carolina and Silicon Valley and its headquarters in Hopkinton, Mass., near Boston.

Ord, Nebraska, and the 1% Miracle A county (pop. 2100) in rural Nebraska quit waiting for state and federal help and passed a local sales tax to help itself, shoring up old businesses, starting new ones, and improving local institutions. From hot rods to high tech to housing, Valley County is on a roll.

Your Hand, Wall or Notepad as TouchscreenChris Harrison, a PhD student at the Human-Computer Interaction Institute at Carnegie Mellon University, and a fellow at Microsoft Research, came up with a wearable device that projects an image onto a surface, which then doubles as a touch screen.